Within 15 minutes of the start of Margaret Cho’s stand-up routine, a few audience members headed for the exit, and this trend continued to occur as the performance progressed.
Perhaps the crudeness of her comedy was too distasteful for some to stomach.
Yet the Korean comedian was unapologetic, and blatantly blunt with the subject matters of which she spoke during the College Union Board’s Spring Comedy Show.
This actress of Lifetime’s “Drop Dead Diva” and former “Dancing with the Stars” contestant took the Kendall Hall Main Stage on Saturday, March 26, after John Roberts, recognized from his YouTube videos, opened the show.
Throughout the night, Cho shared tales about her proclivity for promiscuity and engaged in excessive discussion about her excrements. She confessed her love for marijuana and voiced her vexations toward the Palin family.
Additionally, Cho mocked her mother and berated the Bible-loving individuals who try to hide the existence of homosexuality — sometimes quite literally, like when those at her local gym in Peachtree, Ga. placed religious magazines over her copies of The Advocate.
Beneath the veneer of vulgarity, Cho did show some heart — expressing discontentment with the lack of focus or care shown toward the people of Japan after the tsunami and advocating for the LGBT community.
“You could say I’m a bisexual, but I’m also attracted to transgendered people,” Cho said, “so I guess you could say I’m greedy.”
In discussing why she is “very into talking about gay things,” she explained, “From my fag hag perspective, being a gay man has to be the greatest existence possible.”
When someone is born as a gay male, Cho believes “you’re probably near the end of your reincarnation cycle,” for several reasons.
Two of these are: “You can rollerblade all the time” and “You never have to stop listening to Lady Gaga ever. I do not want to ever stop,” she said.
While she will never get to actually be a gay man, an attainable life goal she has is to continue having sex for the rest of her life, or as long physically possible.
Her limitless libido became a topic of discussion, as she told the crowd she hopes to “fuck (her) way right into the nursing home.”
The 42-year-old said, “I want to be so old that when I ask what’s my name, it’s because I really need to know.”
Her Korean heritage, she said, aided her in frequently finding men to sleep with when she was in her twenties.
“All I had to do was pretend to not speak English,” she said, while giggling with her hand in front of her mouth and flashing a peace sign with her fingers to demonstrate her
stereotypical technique.
Cho explained that she has “become more slutty with the invention of texting. I like sexting … but if you’re going to be sexting, check the number you’re sexting.”
She recounted a time where a message, stating she was about to “come,” was mistaken by her mother as an indication that she was paying her a visit.
Speaking of her mother, Cho discussed her time on “Dancing with the Stars,” which she categorized as her mom’s favorite TV show.
“I had to go up against Bristol Palin,” Cho said, who then explained how Palin was “not a good dancer” and always had a look on her face “like a girl when you’re fucking her and she’s not into it.”
Cho also prided herself on the fact that she had “the most pronounced cameltoe” in “Dancing with the Stars” history, and that she is the only contestant to have ever been banned from returning.
“I’m putting the cunt back in country,” Cho told the crowd, after performing a song with a surprisingly good voice, comparing herself to the likes of Susan Boyle, whose voice you also wouldn’t expect to come from “that face,” she said.
She sang several songs throughout — one about murder, another about why she “loves dicks.” During the latter number, John Roberts returned to the stage, sashaying across the back of the stage in a nude bodysuit with only a replication of the song’s namesake showing.
As the opener, John Roberts went wild with wigs, with each representing a different character or personality — from his own mother to gossipy girls.
He returned to the stage for the evening’s final performance — a duet with Cho called “My Puss,” in which the two melodically rapped all the reasons why their “puss” is superior to yours.
A few times throughout the show, Cho stopped herself and said she had gone too far, yet this understatement did not actually hinder her off-color performance; known for crossing the line, this comedian held nothing back.
Jamie Primeau can be reached at primeau2@tcnj.edu.
